Covid: Boris Johnson 'optimistic' about easing lockdown and hints which sectors may reopen first
Video report by ITV News Political Correspondent Daniel Hewitt
Boris Johnson has admitted he is "optimistic" about easing England's lockdown restrictions, and hinted at which sectors may reopen first.
The prime minister will formally unveil his "road map" for reducing coronavirus restrictions on February 22, with schools being prioritised as the first to open on March 8.
He hinted non-essential retail will reopen next, with hospitality to open after that.
Despite Mr Johnson's optimism, scientists are urging his to exercise caution over the easing of restrictions in a bid to stop cases and hospitalisations soaring.
Mr Johnson, who was on a visit to the North East to see where the Novavax vaccine is being manufactured, said: "On February 22 I'll be setting out more of the road map about the way forward, starting with schools, we very much hope, on March 8.
"That's got to be the priority. "
The PM said that while the overall number of cases remained high, the infection rate was starting to fall while the rollout of the vaccination programme has made “huge progress”.
On Friday it was revealed that the Covid reproduction number, or R value - the average number of people each coronavirus positive person goes on to infect - has fallen below 1 for the first time since July.
Latest government data puts the R at between 0.7 and 0.9 across the UK - further evidence that the number of people infected with Covid-19 is becoming smaller.
He added: "But then working forwards to getting non-essential retail open as well.
"And then in due course, as and when we can, prudently and cautiously, of course we want to be opening hospitality as well.
"I'll be trying to set out as much as I possibly can in as much detail as I can."
Mr Johnson refused to comment on newspaper reports published on Saturday which suggested pubs could reopen in April.
He also did commit to providing any dates on which the various different sectors may reopen.
"Give us some more time to look at the data about what is happening, look at the way the numbers are coming down, study also the efficacy of the vaccines," he said.
The prime minister added: "I'm optimistic, I won't hide it from you, but we have to be cautious."
Despite the prime minister's positivity, his comments came as scientists continued to urge caution over the easing of the current controls.
One scientist advising the government said ministers risked a third wave of the pandemic as big as the current one if they moved too quickly while senior NHS figures said the health service remained under huge pressure.
Mr Johnson said the efficacy of the vaccines in helping to drive down infection rates would be the key to determining how quickly they could ease restrictions.
Ministers are confident the vaccination programme is on track to meet the target of getting an offer of a jab to everyone in the top four priority groups – including the over-70s – by the deadline of Monday.
The PM said that scientists will be studying the "efficacy of the vaccines – are they working in the way that we hope that they are – and making sure they are really helping, along with the lockdown, to drive down the incidence. That is the key thing.”
Mr Johnson also echoed Health Secretary Matt Hancock who suggested a combination of vaccines and therapeutics could make Covid-19 a “manageable disease” like seasonal flu.
“A new disease like this will take time for humanity to adapt to but we are,” he said.
“I do think that in due time it will become something that we simply live with. Some people will be more vulnerable than others – that’s inevitable.”
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Earlier, Professor Steven Riley, a member of the Spi-M modelling group, warned that while the rollout of the vaccination programme had been “incredibly successful” it did not mean controls could simply be dropped.
“No vaccine is perfect. I think scientists are genuinely worried.
"We don’t want to show that it is an excellent but not perfect vaccine by having another large wave in the UK,” he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
“If for some reason we were to choose to just pretend it (coronavirus) wasn’t here any more, then there is the potential to go back to a wave that is a similar size to the one that we are in now.”
Meanwhile, NHS Confederation chair Lord Adebowale expressed concern that March 8 was still too soon for schools to return.
He said the NHS workforce was “on its knees” and “cannot afford another peak.”
“I understand the pressure to open schools. We need to do so very safely. I think mid or late March is when we should be reassessing,” he told the Today programme.
However, Mr Johnson remains under pressure from some Tory MPs to get on with lifting the restrictions and reopening the economy as quickly as possible.
Former cabinet minister David Davis said: “There will come a point where there will be a death rate from Covid but it is at a normal level and then we have to cope with that. Obviously we still try to prevent it but we accept it.”
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